Tri-Cities area COVID cases still rising. Here’s who is not wearing masks

The Tri-Cities area had 47 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by the Benton Franklin Health District on Tuesday.

That’s down from the average of 69 cases per day for the last three days, but still higher than the average of 42 cases a day reported for the previous week in the Tri-Cities area.

The cases include 21 in Benton County and 26 in Franklin County, bringing total confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic to 5,245 in Benton County and 4,831 in Franklin County.

No new Tri-Cities area deaths were reported on Tuesday, leaving the bicounty total at 188.

The number of people hospitalized locally for treatment of COVID-19 increased to 25, after the number of patients had been in the low 20s since Oct. 12.

The 25 patients accounted for 8% of patients hospitalized in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

The latest case rate for Benton County confirmed by the Washington state Department of Health is 158 cases per 100,000 people over the two weeks ending Oct. 15.

Preliminary data shows the Benton County case rate will increase to as high as 171 cases per 100,000 over the two weeks ending Oct. 24.

For Franklin County the latest case rate confirmed by the Washington state Department of Health is 270 cases per 100,000 people over the two weeks ending Oct. 15.

Mask concerns

Washington state officials, concerned about the rising case rates as the weather cools, say state residents need to do better with wearing masks.

The Benton Franklin Health District is no longer coordinating surveys of how many people are wearing masks in grocery stores in the Tri-Cities area now that many other types of stores also are open.

But a Western Washington University survey of 4,000 people in Northwest Washington found that 90% of those surveyed often or always wear masks in public, said Dr. Kathy Lofy, the Washington state health officer, at a Tuesday press briefing.

But only 50% of the same people often or always wear masks when around friends in private, with younger adults even less likely to wear masks in private, she said.

“We will be able to do more this fall and winter if we do things safely,” she said.

People said they don’t think they will be infected or it feels unnatural to wear masks indoors when gathering with close friends, Lofy said.

But wearing masks at small, private indoor gatherings needs to become the norm, she said. She also recommended good ventilation, including rolling down a car window when riding with friends.

About 1,000 deaths could be prevented in the state by Feb. 1 if mask use increased to 95%, Lofy said, quoting information from the University of Washington Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation website.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported Monday 587 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 25 deaths since Friday.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 103,500, cases and 2,321 deaths, up from 102,913 cases Sunday and 2,296 deaths Friday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.

Twenty-eight people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Oct. 7, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.

King County continues to have the highest case numbers in Washington, with 26,519 cases and 809 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,852 cases and 271 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 9,971 and 222 deaths, according to the state’s tally.

Benton and Franklin rank sixth and seventh, after Spokane and Snohomish counties.

All counties in Washington have cases. Eight counties have case counts of fewer than 100, including Columbia County with 14 cases.

For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 8.9-per-100,000-people. The national rate for the same period is 21.1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States at 105.3. Vermont is the lowest at 3.1.

There have been more than 8.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 225,580 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation, although some other countries have higher rates based on population. More than 1.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 43 million.

The Tacoma News Tribune contributed to this report.